Aspectus Infestorum
by red day dawning
Summary: Post-war AU – the discovery of unexpected images in Severus's Foe-glass leads to dire and strange consequences…


**Title**: Aspectus Infestorum – "Image of Dangers"  
**Betas**: Thanks to **snapelike** for helping me pull it together. All mistakes are my own.  
**Warning/s**: bestiality (implied); masturbation; angst; weird and dark semen-activated spells; and character death/disappearance.  
**Disclaimer**: _The following story is based on the characters and situations created and owned by J K Rowling, various publishers including, but not limited to Bloomsbury Books/Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros, Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended._  
**Summary**: Post-war AU – the discovery of unexpected images in Severus's Foe-glass leads to dire and strange consequences…  
**Author's notes**: Written for the **lupinsnape** '08 Dark Side Challenge, with the prompt "Foe-glass".  
Thanks to the LiveJournal communities: **littledetails** and **latin** for their extensive help creating this surprisingly challenging spell-name. (And I, in my ignorance, thought it would be so simple – just translate "Mirror of Dangers", no? NO.)

**Aspectus Infestorum**

"Severus, why am I reflected in your Foe-glass?" Remus asked.

"What?"

"That mirror – it's not even facing me, yet it shows an image of me with a wolf at my side! Why would I appear in your Foe-glass, Severus? I'm not your enemy."

"Why indeed?" Severus laughed, a sound wholly without humour; the sound of tarnished metal rasping, of rock grinding into dust. "Clearly the mirror does not agree."

* * *

After drinking the Wolfsbane potion and thanking him for brewing it, Remus left. He honestly didn't know what to say to Severus – the Potion Master's bitterness seemed deeper and darker than his usual sardonic bile. Even his austere features seemed starkly etched with pain.

Remus couldn't stop thinking about it. Why would Severus consider him an enemy? Was it because of his memory of him as one of the Marauders? Or because he is a werewolf? Was he somehow a danger to him? Remus had allowed himself to hope… hope that they could become friends at least, maybe even more than friends…

Sadly Remus thought, surely, _now, here, with only us left, surely we could finally…_

* * *

Severus found himself unable to stop examining the Foe-glass. What did it mean by showing Lupin's reflection, as though he were an enemy? The image of the wolf he could understand, but why the image of Lupin? He did not think of Lupin as an enemy – he was an irritant, certainly, a never-expressed desire… perhaps. But an enemy?

Finally Severus thought about the name "Foe-glass". But that wasn't really its name, 'Foe-glass' was merely a colloquial rendering of the translation from the Latin name, _Aspectus Infestorum,_ 'Image of Dangers'. So Lupin was a danger to him – but how?

Shared survivors, the only ones left, they only had each other.

Or they had nothing. And nothing was, if not appealing, at least familiar.

Severus sighed deeply, rubbing his temples against the threat of an impending headache. Truthfully, there was only one way in which he perceived Lupin as a threat – and he wasn't really a threat, he would not allow him to be a threat, because he would never act upon these long-suppressed feelings for the man. Or the long-suppressed feelings for the wolf.

* * *

The next month's collection of Wolfsbane brought a chastened and thoughtful Lupin to Severus's door. As soon as he entered Severus's room he looked at the Foe-glass. And there he was in the mirror, a blurry reflection, with the wolf at his side.

"After all this time, Severus? Surely we've moved past our school-day animosities? I've apologised and I'll apologise again, as often as you wish. What more can I do or say to persuade you I am not your enemy?"

"Still the weakling, Lupin? Still cowering and apologizing? Will you ever grow a backbone?"

Remus accepted the goblet of Wolfsbane silently, watching Severus over the rim. Drinking it in one gulp, he handed the empty goblet back to Severus, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thank you, Severus," he said. He added, "There are only the two of us left, Severus, all the rest are dead. Can't you put it behind you? I'm sorry about the Shrieking Shack. I'm sorry I'm a werewolf. Please, we are connected - we only have each other."

Severus sneered as Remus began to speak, but as he stopped and stared at Remus without expression as he heard the words we only have each other. Only each other.

Remus tried again, his eyes still locked on Severus's face, "Severus, I think…"

"Shut up."

"Severus…"

"Get out. Don't come back until next month."

"Severus…"

"Get. Out. Now. Before I hex you," Severus said, his voice low with menace.

Remus turned and left without saying another word.

* * *

Severus found that the reflection of Lupin and the wolf remained in the Foe-glass after Lupin had left. He studied the image of the man, that charming quirky half-smile, that lovely expressive face, those light-filled eyes the colour of sweetest rich honey.

And then Severus allowed himself to examine the wolf at Lupin's side. A lean and rangy wolf, almost the height of a man's waist, his coat thickly silver-furred, with pricked alert ears and a hungry look.

Severus felt his breathe quickening, his heart speeding. As the wolf looked directly at him, Severus began to harden. He slowly unfastened his trousers, letting his hand slide inside to caress his cock slowly.

Severus watched as the wolf moved closer to the mirror to press against the glass, his eyes glowing dark amber.

Severus stepped closer to the Foe-glass himself, and then pushed his trousers down his thighs. He lightly stroked one finger along the length of his cock to the tip, lingering to circle and tease the drops of pre-come over the head of his cock, and then stroke himself firmly from root to tip.

Moaning, he closed his hand around his cock, grasping tighter and harder, thrusting harder and faster into his fist, never taking his eyes from the panting bright-eyed wolf. As the wolf leaped up against the mirror, as though frantic to break through, Severus caught a glimpse of the wolf's erect cock jutting out of the fur, pulsing, bright red and hard and long, gleaming with dripping leaking pre-come. The sight of the werewolf's cock was too much for Severus, and he came with a strangled yell, his creamy white semen arcing up to spurt over the surface of the Foe-glass, over the image of the frantic werewolf.

The werewolf howled, his mouth open and silent, and then to Severus's surprise the wolf began to lick the come from the mirror's surface, as though Severus had actually come on the wolf's side of the mirror, not his own. The wolf eagerly licked, his tongue bright pink and long, consuming every trace of Severus's semen.

As the wolf lapped up the last drop, Severus stumbled against the Foe-glass, feeling a curious dislocation, as though his body was distorting in some slow-motion Apparation, wavering between the inside and the outside of the mirror. For a nauseatingly dizzy moment Severus felt himself simultaneously outside the mirror looking at a distorted and wavering reflection of himself standing next to the wolf, and inside the mirror with the wolf's warm fur pressing against him.

Severus fell against the mirror's frame as he passed out.

* * *

This time, Remus wasn't going to try talking. Words would never work with Severus. Something else was required. Something more direct.

He drank the Wolfsbane in one gulp, and took a step closer to Severus. As Severus reached out for the empty goblet, Lupin grabbed his arm and tentatively touched their lips together – Severus was frozen, motionless with surprise, and then he finally reacted, melting into the kiss, letting Lupin wrap his arms against him, responding to the press of their bodies hard against each other.

Lupin broke away to smile breathlessly at Severus, and then his attention was caught by some small movement in the corner of his eye. Remus was looking at the Foe-glass, seeing the reflection of his wolf with… an image of Severus at his side. Severus with the wolf, reflected in his own Foe-glass.

Remus gasped in alarm, "You're not meant to see your own reflection in your Foe-glass… no, don't look at it, no, Severus step away!"

"You can see it too? Can it be real then?" Severus asked, stepping close to the glass.

And it seemed to Remus that the moment poised for half an eternity, as he screamed Severus's name, and reached out to grab him, unable to touch him in time, powerless to help as Severus touched the Foe-glass surface and was absorbed into his own reflection, vanishing entirely into the mirror in an explosion of white light.

* * *

The image in the mirror misted and reformed. Severus gazed into the familiar Hogwarts staffroom, where a man in shabby robes seemed to look at him and smile, his eyes glowing as he drank his hot chocolate. All he had to do was take one small step, into the mirror – one step and he would be there, smelling the rich earthy scent of cocoa . One step and he would be home.

Severus pressed against the mirror's surface -- he was in an Order meeting and his eyes locked with the man sitting opposite him, and the warmly spoken words, "Severus, do take care, you know we can't lose you," sounded like acceptance, a promise of things to come. One small step into the mirror and he would be there.

He was half-way through the frame, he was crawling, emerging from the throat of the Shrieking Shack into the Shack's belly, the place where he was to be consummated and consumed. One small step and he would be there, with the breath of the ravening werewolf hot in his face, fangs open to rend and tear, claws ripping clothes and skin, fur pressed against his naked skin as the beast flung him to the ground and pierced his tender, willing, helpless flesh. One step and he would be there, they would be together at last.

One small step and… he took that step, into the mirror.

And stepped into light – heart of the sun blinding white light. Severus was surrounded by light, he was melting into light – he was everywhere and nowhere, he was eaten and consumed – he could smell the rich scent of chocolate, and hear a husky voice – and he was flying, flying, and would never fall – he was with the werewolf finally, predator and prey, eater and consumed, finally they were one...

* * *

Remus screamed as he raised raised his arms to shield his eyes and face as the Foe-glass exploded into thousands of mirror-shards, sparkling in the light.

_fin_


End file.
